When In Rome
by Fairie Daggers
Summary: Bella bumps into a familiar face during her study abroad


She could feel a presence behind her. One that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand erect. A shiver danced down her spine despite the heat of the early afternoon sun shining down. 'You're being paranoid,' she thought to herself. 'It's a busy afternoon in a crowded area of town. Even if someone is following you it's probably because you're headed toward a tourist trap.' She shifted her shoulder bag a little higher and determined to put the uneasy feeling behind her.

The gorgeous Spanish Steps came into view as she rounded the corner, seeming to appear suddenly, as many landmarks in Rome were apt to do. It was a warm April afternoon and the Steps were busier than they had been over the past few months, but not as crowded as they would be in the coming weeks. Looking for a decent area to sit and sketch, she was overcome with the disturbing feeling of being watched once again. Her gut, which somehow always sounded like her cop father's gruff voice, urged her to approach someone so as to not seem alone. She scanned the busy area once more. She saw mothers with small children playing in the fountains, men with blankets spread with knock off purses and sunglasses, and several tourist groups with headphones and leaders holding up umbrellas or flags.

Then she found her savior: a man sitting by himself, looking down at his phone. She knew he was American by the ball cap covering his head.

The thought that she was once again being paranoid kept her from approaching him immediately. 'It's the middle of the day, no one is going to try anything in broad daylight with all of these people around.'

She had almost convinced herself to stick to her original plan of finding a nice spot to draw from when someone stepped much too close behind her, an unfamiliar hand brushing against her hip.

She hurriedly climbed the steps to the man in the Dodgers cap, frightened and flustered. She plopped onto the stair next to him, gracelessly and out of breath, speaking before he had a chance.

"Hey! So sorry I'm late! Thanks for waiting for me!" She began pulling her sketch book and pencils from her bag. The man looked up from his phone with his eyebrows raised slightly in alarm at being interrupted. She continued talking in a quieter tone, "I'm sorry for bothering you, it's just that someone followed me here and then touched me and I didn't want to sit alone, or go back home because what if he followed me back there? I'm sure he'll move on if he sees I'm with someone, especially a man. So if you don't mind I'll sit here for a few minutes then I'll leave you alone." The words were rushed and she could feel her face flushing in embarrassment over her rudeness.

The man didn't respond and she felt doubt edging out embarrassment as her dominant emotion. She refused to look at him, busying herself with opening her book to an empty page. "I'm such an idiot, you don't even speak English. I just assumed since you were wearing a ball cap. That's why they say assuming makes an ass out of you and me. Of course, I'm the only ass here."

The man chuckled, and she looked up sharply, stunned into silence at his familiar face.

"You assumed correctly, I was just a little taken aback at your unexpected presence. Are you alright? Do you still see the man who was following you?"

She blinked several times, trying to clear her vision, or to reset her mind. She was obviously hallucinating. There was no way that Edward Cullen was sitting next to her on the Spanish Steps. It was completely impossible that she had just fully embarrassed herself in front of People's Sexiest Man Alive 2019. The only explanation was that the man following her had successfully kidnapped her, knocked her unconscious, and drugged her with some kind of hallucinogen. Her cop father's warnings about going places alone in a foreign country flashed though her head again, only this time he sounded like Liam Neeson and he was threatening her kidnapper with his special skills.

She laughed slightly hysterically, and Edwards face looked confused as opposed to the concerned expression he had been wearing.

"You're Edward Cullen." It came out as a whisper, her body unable to produce much more than that.

He tugged his cap a little lower and glanced around, "Ah, yeah I am."

She stared for another minute, before realizing she was making him uncomfortable. "Out of all of the people I could act like a complete spaz in front of, it had to be Edward Cullen." She began packing up her unused drawing tools. "This is the most bizarre day of my life. I'm terribly sorry for interrupting you, I'll go now."

His hand reached out and gently grabbed her wrist, stilling her movements and causing her to look back at his handsome face. He was smiling, not seeming bothered by her presence. "You don't have to go, especially since you were so upset when you first sat down. Now, do you still see the guy who was following you?"

She swallowed hard, not taking her eyes off his gorgeous green ones. "I never saw him. He was behind me and I was too nervous to look back at him."

His mouth turned down into a frown. "You said he touched you? Inappropriately?" He seemed to realize he was still grasping her wrist and quickly let go.

"He was right behind me when I stopped walking and he reached out and kind of grasped my hip. I practically ran away as soon as he did."

"How do you know it was a man?"

She gave a small shrug. "A feeling mostly, and the hand seemed too large to be a woman's."

Edward looked around then, scanning the area at the bottom of the Steps. "No one seems to be paying attention to us, but you're welcome to sit with me as long as you like. I'm reading, so I won't be great company, just a heads up."

She smiled and flipped her book back open, "That's very kind of you, I promise not to be a bother anymore." He turned his attention back to his phone and she glanced around, trying to decide her subject for the afternoon. She quickly realized that nothing held her attention quite like the man sitting next to her. "Would it be ok if I sketched you? I completely understand if you don't want me to."

He turned those gorgeous eyes her way once more. "I don't see why not. Do you need me to do anything special?"

"Oh no, just pretend I'm not here," she responded quickly, scooting back a smidge and angling herself toward him. He shot her a wink and began reading once more.

She quickly outlined his form, his profile appearing on her page. They sat in companionable silence while the sun began it's descent toward the horizon. She was almost startled when he cleared his throat and angled himself toward her. Her pencil froze above the page as he leaned in close, observing her progress. She had captured his likeness in such a manner that he seemed to be brooding, dark and forlorn. He glanced at her anxious face, seeking his approval. "This is fantastic. I've never had anyone draw me before." The tension slid from her features, a small smile appearing. "Can I have this?"

"Of course!" She added a small signature at the bottom before carefully removing the page from the book.

He squinted at the writing, only able to discern the initials BS. "Can I get the name of my new favorite artist?" He cheekily asked.

She blushed again, tilting her face down so that her hair swung in front of her face. "Bella Swan."

"Well Bella Swan, what do I owe you?"

Her head snapped up and her eyes grew large. "Nothing! I feel like I owe you. You could have told me to get lost earlier, but you were so kind and I can't thank you enough."

He smiled and her heart skipped. "Then how about dinner?"

Bella's mouth dropped open in surprise. "You want to have dinner with me?"

"Why wouldn't I? You are kind and beautiful, and I would like to get to know you a little better."

Her blush returned full force and she barely managed to mumble out an acceptance.

"There's a restaurant a few blocks from here that I've had my eye on, are you ok walking there with me?"

"Absolutely." Edward stood and stretched while she packed away her supplies. He offered her his hand when she stood and she gratefully accepted it.

The walk was short and they didn't say much, but it was a comfortable silence. They were quickly seated at a small table on the patio and Edward ordered a bottle of red wine to share.

"You are 21 aren't you?" he asked, slightly abashed.

"I will be in September," she replied. "But it doesn't matter here, the drinking age is 18."

Their orders were placed and the conversation began to flow naturally. The typical getting to know you questions were asked and answered. Bella spoke of her semester abroad and how sad she was that she would be going home in less than a month. Edward explained that he was in the middle of the press tour for the release of an upcoming super hero film.

"Oh I've been dying to see that!" Bella gushed. "I know everyone has of course, but I'm just so excited to see all of my favorite characters on screen together."

"Who is your favorite?" Edward inquired.

Bella's cheeks reddened and she hoped the quickly approaching night hid her blush. "Well I've always been partial to your Captain. He's been through so much and I'm hoping he gets a happy ending. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

Edward laughed and pretended to zip his lips and throw away the key. Bella gave a huge sigh of fake disappointment and he winked. It was like talking to an old friend. For most of the dinner, Bella had forgotten that Edward lived in a completely different world. He was so down to Earth and fun that the fact that he was a movie star slipped her mind. He insisted on paying the check when it arrived and asked if she was interested in getting some gelato for dessert.

"I'm only here for a few days, I have to have the entire Italian experience you know!" He teased as she led him toward her favorite gelato shop.

"I've been here for four months and I've eaten almost every flavor of gelato possible," she bragged. "Just stay away from pompelmo, trust me." He shot her a questioning look. "Grapefruit," she clarified.

He burst out laughing, his head tilting back and his arms coming up to cross his chest. She had seen him do it many times in interviews, but it was so much more adorable in person. "Why would you try grapefruit ice cream to begin with?"

"If they make it every day that must mean people buy it right? Or else they would stop because they're losing money. So I figured why not? You should be happy that I'm here to steer you clear and to keep you from having that terrible taste in your mouth."

He laughed again and held the door open for her to enter before him. Bella inhaled deeply, loving the scent of freshly baked cones and sugar that permeated the air. Edward smiled at the look of contentment on her face and grabbed her hand to pull her closer to the case of delicious gelato. When they decided on their treats, stracciatella for her and nocciola for him, they exited the shop and wandered the streets, simply enjoying each other's company.

"My roommates and I call this Rome-ing," she said randomly when there was a lull in their conversation. He raised his eyebrows at her, his mouth full of gelato. "You know, just walking around the streets with no real destination. We have found some of our favorite places by just roaming around the city. Rome-ing"

Edward smiled at her, completely enamored. "Will you show me your favorite place to go?"

"It's hard to pick a favorite place because there is always something amazing around every corner here, but I'll take you where I feel most happy."

It wasn't a long walk, but they discovered much about each other during it. Edward learned that Bella was from Washington but was attending school at UCLA. In turn Bella was surprised to uncover that Edward was from Boston but owned a home outside of LA.

"That explains the Dodgers cap," she said, gesturing to the blue hat.

Edward seemed a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I know it's a very American thing to wear a ball cap, but it keeps me from being recognized as easily."

Bella smiled, "I know, I didn't have any idea who you were until I was already sitting next to you."

She led him through a small archway and he came to an abrupt stop. "Wow."

She seemed pleased with his reaction. "I know right. It's great during the day, but all lit up like this at night is so much better. Besides it's not as touristy in the evenings."

Bernini's Fountain of Four Rivers stood illuminated in the center of Piazza Navona, people milling about around the base. They found an empty bench and sat, Bella pulling her sketchbook out of her bag. She opened it to the beginning, showing Edward the drawing of the fountain in front of them. He took the book from her, flipping through the pages slowly. She was talented for sure. He recognized many of Rome's famous landmarks, but the fountain appeared more than anything else.

She was quiet, watching him study her work. When there was silence between them like this her mind took the opportunity to digest the events of the day. She still could hardly believe one of her favorite actors was sitting next to her, let alone that he was kind and genuine and all around wonderful. She closed her eyes briefly, hoping to commit every single moment of their time together to memory.

When she opened her eyes she found Edward watching her. "You're really talented Bella." She flushed with the praise.

"It's mostly a hobby. It's not something I can make a career out of."

"That's what I thought too. There's a million guys out there just like me, better than me, who want to act. I thought about giving up so many times, going into the medical field like my dad. Having a "secure job." But I love acting. And I know that I am one of the lucky ones who made it, but you can make it too Bella, you just have to believe in yourself."

He was so earnest, so optimistic, that she couldn't help but believe him. She smiled and reached for his hand, squeezing it softly in thanks. He used his other hand to tuck her loose hair behind her ear, cupping her face with his palm. He inhaled deeply through his nose before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"I'm going to walk you home Bella. Then I'm going to give you my phone number, and you're going to call me when you get back to LA."


End file.
